Home Additions: Which Type Is Best For You?

Home additions commonly fall into a number of distinct categories to address the homeowner’s specific needs for living space, cost and style. These additions range from low-cost and do-it-yourself sunrooms and garage conversions to expensive and full-size standard additions. But which is right for you?

Today, we discuss the basic types of home additions to consider when expanding your home.

Conventional Home Addition: A Blank Slate for Your Unique Needs

A home addition is a multi-room structure that is built onto the side of the house and is permanently open to the main house. When well-designed and expertly constructed, a home addition seamlessly fuses into and becomes a part of the home itself. A conventional addition can consist of several areas, such as a great room, dining room, family room, bathroom and bedroom. Unless the addition is built to be an apartment, it is rare that a kitchen is included in the design of this type of addition.

Even though full-size home additions are expensive, with costs scarcely dipping below five figures, they typically return high value in regard to their building cost. The process of building a conventional home addition onto your residence is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. It is beneficial to consider that you are essentially creating a smaller home, complete with all the important aspects of a house-build – like a renovation and roofing contractor, architect, permits, plumbing, heating and cooling, change orders and more.

Bump-Out Addition: An Increase in Living Space on the Main Floor

A bump-out is a single room structure built onto the side of a home intended for an individual function. It increases the total square footage of a home, but does not reach the scale of a full addition. Most times, bump-out additions are used in kitchens or bathrooms to accommodate elements like cooking areas, countertops, bathtubs or showers. In a common bathroom, for example, a bump-out can extend the wall to another 12 to 15 square feet. Facilities are then moved to the addition, freeing up space in the room for a sink and countertop. Another opportunity for a bump-out is when your home is already sitting close to your property line and setbacks could be too tight for a full-scale addition.

Like building a full-size home addition, adding a bump-out is one of the many exterior home renovations that can take place in all but the most inclement weather. Though a section of the home will be open for a while, bringing on a skilled team can help minimize that amount of time. While this type of addition is less expensive than full-size additions, bump-outs do not come cheap and are still subject to building codes, permits and inspections.

Garage Conversion: A Flexible Space for Storage or Recreation

Whether you have an integral garage that connects to your main living space or a detached garage that is freestanding and separate from your home, converting it into habitable accommodation by adding flooring, installing a ceiling and replacing the garage door with a solid wall is one of the most effective ways to increase your home’s square footage. There are a lot of garage conversions to explore, including an additional bedroom, utility room, game room or home gym.

A garage conversion generally involves fewer alterations to the exterior of your home since you are working with an existing structure. It also makes sense to tackle it if you are currently undertaking a larger scope of home renovations at the same time. That way, you can arrange a layout that flows from one zone to the next.

While garage conversion can increase the living space of your home and potentially boost its resale value, there are certain situations where it might present more problems than it is worth. For instance, would the cost of reinforcing foundations mean you are paying more than you initially expected? Would the building work render one or more existing rooms frequently unusable? If you live in a conservation area or in a listed building, you will likely need planning permission.

Sunroom Addition: A Place to Appreciate the Beauty of Nature

A sunroom is an addition to the side of the home and usually defined as a recreational space connecting the indoors and outdoors. It can be closed off from the main part of the home with doors and normally entails a considerable amount of wall space – as much as 80% – dedicated to glass. A sunroom addition is never used as a permanent sleeping area. A kitchen and bathroom are not incorporated into this type of addition as well. Building codes generally do not require a sunroom to have electricity, heating and cooling, although many modern-day sunrooms are built with electrical services and supplemental heating and cooling for greater comfort and convenience.

Within the sunroom category, there are two types of home additions. Firstly, sunrooms can be completed by a general home addition contractor and custom-designed and built according to the specifications of the homeowner. Such sunrooms often have traditional stud-and-truss framing and shingle roofing systems, but the walls are predominantly glass with expansive patio doors and full-length windows.

More commonly, though, current sunrooms are built with aluminum, steel or fiberglass as the framework pieces, and glass panels for the walls. A prefab sunroom is designed and fabricated off-site and then is shipped in sections to your doorstep. While there are prefab kits on the market, it does not mean that the process of assembling a sunroom is a simple do-it-yourself task. Usually, it still requires the knowledge and expertise of a contractor affiliated with the kit manufacturer.

Contact Us for All Your Home Improvement Needs

If you are interested in home additions, contact us today. Ben’s Construction Inc offers a wide range of quality and reliable services to the residents of Massachusetts. Our skilled team specializes in roof replacement, gutter installation, additions, full gut rehabs, dormers, decks and porches, bath and kitchen remodeling, and new construction. Get in touch with us for a free consultation and estimate for our professional services by calling (508) 962-2417 or filling out our convenient online form.

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